Buff wheel and method of forming the same



Oct. 22, 1935. J. J. slEFEN n 21,017,925

` Y BUFF WHEEL AND'METHOD oF A1= fRrxING THE SAME v Filed May 2o, 1933 v INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

circularly cut plies of fabric.

such a manner present a comparatively hard and Patented Oct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES AND METHOD oF FOEMJNG THE SAME BUFF WHEELv Y John J. sieren, Detroit, Mich. Application May 20,1933, semmasvaosz' l M 7 claims. (o1. 51-103)A This invention relates to improvements in buif wheels and the method of forming them. In

present practice it has been customary to form buff wheels by sewing together a multiplicityof Wheels formed in tively expensive to use for the reason that they wear down very rapidly, and for the further reason that they are extremely wasteful of buiiing compound, and thatfor the reason that when they vare rotated at high speeds most of the buiilng lcompound is thrown, by centrifugal force, from the periphery of the wheels and wasted.

I propose to construct a bu wheel in the manner hereinafter described which is much more efficient in operation and has a productive life of from two to six times longer than the produc-` tive life of the present known wheels.

Another object of the invention is theprovision of a buff wheel which, when rotated at high speeds, develops air pockets between its sectors, which air pockets tend to lower the normal operating temperature of the Wheel, thereby eliminating to a great extent the hazard of re.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a buff wheel which will produce a. cushioning effect when the work is applied to the wheel, thereby eliminating much of the physical shock experienced by the operator.

Another object of the invention is the provision f' of a buif wheelwhich will cut faster with the application of much less pressure than required with the use of conventional buffs. l

Another object of the invention is the provision of a wheel, the use of which results in a considerable saving of builing compound.

The foregoing objects of the invention and additional advantages will be more `readily undermy improved wheel illustrating a modified meth,l

od of mounting. k Fig. 5 is a central vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 6

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another modied method of mounting the .sectors comprising my improved Wheel.

Now referring more particularly to the draw` The nished wheel may c such 'manner can be used, In fact, in some ining, it will lbe seen that I form my improved bui! wheel by providing a plurality oi' individual sectors 1 which I arrange in layers about a common center, the sectors 1 of each layer being in stag-'- gered relation to the sectors oi!` each adjacent 6 layer, as shown in'Flg. l.

-I prefer to-make the individualsectors I` by iirst securing togethers. predetermined number of plies of woven fabric such as canvas, duck',I vor cotton sheeting, which; plies should, preferably, 10 bein the form of discs having a diameter approximately one-half of the diameter of the bui wheel to be formed.y The plies are preferably looselyk stitched together by any desired type of stitching,"

such as spiral stitching, as indicated at "8f in 15 f not intend to limit myself in this invention to any particular type of stitching, although lIhave obtained very satisfactory results from th'e spiral" `and concentric types.l Having properly stitched`20` f together the desired number of discs,fI thenprov f ceed'to cut one sector 1 from each stack of tdiscs.

The individual sectors 'I are of such predetermined size that when fitted together inthe coni'-` mon planes comprisingthe layers, the arcs of the 25 several sectors I will form ,he circumference of the completed buif'wheeI as shown in Fig. 1. ist of any number of layers. The wheel disclose in Figs. 1 and, 2 con# sists of ive layers. 80

It will be understood thatthe sectors 'l may also be 'formed by stitching/together a plural/ity of discs having a diameter equivalent to the diameter `oi. the wheel to be formedl and then ra-v dially dividing the discs into the desired number 35 of, sectors, but sectors formed in that manner are less effective b/ecause of the diiilculty in obtaining a stitching which is angularly disposed with reff erence to'the,f"working edge, the advantagel of whch will hereinafter be shown. There are some 0 typesfof work, however, wherein vsectors made in stances it maybe desirable to eliminate the stitching entirely, all of which is wlthinfthe con templation of my invention. f E' 45' In reducing my inventionf-to practice, I have found that the individual sectors 1 can be secured in fixed relation to each other in the planes com'L lprislng the several layers in a variety of 'different ;'ways. For example, in Figs. 1y and 2 I illustrate 50 how the sectors 'I maybe provided with holes .III 'l adapted to engage pins I I positioned on a mountp ing hub I2, ywhich is `backed up by the plate I 3 having a centrally disposed opening I4 and a plurality of equally spaced apart holes I5 adapted to engage the projecting ends of the pins II.

' '(not shown) of a conventional buiiing lathe.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I illustrate a modified form of 60 mounting which consists of a fabric disc I6 having a centrally disposed opening i1, which disc is sewed, as at I8, to the several sectors 1 comprising one layer of a Wheel.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I illustrate a modified form of mounting which consists of a metallic disc IB having a centrally disposed opening and inturned peripheral barbs 2i adapted to be forced into the sides of the sectors 1.

When my improved buff wheel is properly mounted on any one of the preferred forms of mounting and revolved rapidly, the sectors 'l as well as the layers comprising each sector, have a 4tendency to separate from one another, leaving air gaps between the edges of the respective sectors and between the layers comprising each sector. This is due partly to the fact that the individual sectors expand or stretch radially. I have found that alli-inch diameter-bui wheel constructed in the manner herein described expands as much as one-half inch when revolved at 2400revolutions per minute. It is this tendency towards separation` of the individual sectors 1, and the separation of the layers comprising the :jsectors, when in use, that contributes largely to the eiectiveutility of my invention. In the rst place, my improved wheel will accomplish more work with a much smaller amount of buiiing compound. I account for that in this way: Each y sector 1 has a leading and a trailing edge. When 1 the bufiing compound is applied to the wheel, it

is' caught first by the leading edges of the sectors 'i and forced into the voids between the sectors and held there, and as the wheel is rotated in use, the compound is slowly advanced to the working surface instead of being thrown free oi the wheel and wasted, as is the case when a solid wheel is used. Tests which I have performed have shown that with the use-of my improved wheel a saving of as much as ilfty. per cent of bufng compound can beeifected. Further, when the layers of fabric comprising the individual sectors are loosely stitched as shown at 9 in Figure l, tangential pockets are formed along the .periphery of the wheel which serve also as reservoirs for the buing compound.

It is further evident that the tendency of the individual sectors as well as the layers comprising each sector, to separate from one another will result in air pockets being formedbetween the sectorsA and the individual layers, causing a very material cooling eiTect upon the entire wheel while it is in operation.. The tendency of the 55 "players comprising the sectors to separate from one another and the tendency of the individual sectors to stretch radially as the wheel is rapidly rotated also gives rise to a condition of variable resiliency which materially reduces the physical shock experienced by the operator in contacting the Wheel with an article to be buied.

I have also discovered in experimenting with this improved buff wheel `that when being used on fiat work it has a tendency to draw the work to it, with the result that very little, if any,

effort is necessary to hold the work against the wheel. Present known buffs on the other hand, have a tendency to repelA the work from the Wheel.

In addition to the foregoing results vobtained in using my improved wheel, the fact must not be overlooked that I disclose a buing wheel which has amore eilective cutting edge than that presented by wheels made in the conventional e manner. The increased eectiveness of my wheel is due, in part, to the fact that each sector 'l is so stitched that the threads comprising the stitching 9 are presented to the working edge at an angie instead of having the work ride on the side of the thread as is the case when wheels l formedin `the conventional manner are used. By the same token the bufiing compound which collects in the pockets formed between the stitches is fed to the periphery of the Wheel evenly and constantly, thereby causing the wheel 1n to do more effective work. Considerable variation in comparative hardness can be provided foreach sector 1 of my improved wheel by varying the distances between the rows of stitches.

While the exemplary forms of my invention l5 are herein described and shown in the accompanying drawing, itis understood that this invention may embody various modications in detail structure without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended 80 claims. y

I claim:

1. A bufiing wheel comprising a plurality of individual sectors, each sector consisting of a multiplicity of layers of woven material loosely 26 secured to one another by spiral involute stitching. r .2. A buiilng wheel comprising a plurality of individual sectors, each sector comprising a multiplicity of layers of woven material loosely se- 30 cured to one another by stitches which denne tangential involute pockets adapted to carry a buing compound.

3. A -buillng wheel comprising a plurality of individual sectors, each sector consisting of a multiplicity of layers ot woven material loosely secured to one another by stitches which define intercommunicating tangential involute pockets adapted to carry a buiiing compound.

4. A buffing `wheel comprising a plurality of 0 individual sectors, arranged conoentrically about `a common axis, so that the arcs of the sectors` terial loosely secured to one another by stitches.

which define tangential involute pockets adapted to carry a' bufiing compound.

6. A bufting wheel comprising a plurality o1 individual sectors, arranged about a common axis'so that the arcs of the sectors form the periphery of the wheel and thesides of the sectors define radial pockets, each sector consisting of a multiplicity of layers of woven material loosely secured to one another by stitches which denne `tangential involute pockets adapted to carry a buing compound.

7. A buiiing wheel comprising a multiplicity of segments, each segment consisting of a plurality of layers of woven material, loosely stitched together to form intercommunicating spiral pockets, and radial channels between said segments, which serve as cooling means for said wheel, and means for trapping a buiing compound.

JOHN J. smFEN 

